SHENZHEN, China — Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. is planning to move forward with the construction of a $297 million tire factory project in Morocco following receipt of a "certificate of overseas investment of enterprises" from local authorities in Qingdao, China.
In a June 5 filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the Chinese tire maker said it had completed registration of Sentury Tire (Morocco) Co. in Tangier, Morocco. Construction is expected to begin in July and take 18 months to complete, Sentury said.
Once fully operational, the plant will have capacity to produce 6 million car and light truck tires per year, with output in the first year reaching 3.6 million units.
In addition to the Morocco investment, Sentury is progressing with a planned $590 million greenfield tire factory project in Galicia, northwest Spain.
That plan will include three plants in China; two in Thailand; one each in Europe, Africa and North America; and three global research and development centers, in China, Europe and North America.
Sentury operates two plants, in Jimo, Shandong, China, rated at 15 million units per year, and in Rayong, Thailand, with a capacity of 5 million units per year.
The Spanish plant will have a rated annual capacity of 12 million radial tires and is to be completed in two phases over a 36-month period.
The first phase, expected to be completed in 24 months, will have a production capacity of 6 million units.
By 2025, production will reach 12 million units, according to Sentury's previous announcements.
Sentury is represented in the U.S. by Sentury Tire USA, a subsidiary in Hialeah, Fla. It goes to market under the Delinte, Groundspeed, Landsail and Sentury brand names.
Qingdao Sentury pursued a plan to build a plant in the U.S., in LaGrange, Ga., for three years before declaring the project "on hold" indefinitely in 2019.
